


the ice prince

by chisomo



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff and Angst, M/M, ice prince! hyunjin, servant! felix, yall already know hyunjin is a whole prince
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 08:09:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17321207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chisomo/pseuds/chisomo
Summary: Hyunjin never asked to be a prince.He also never asked to fall in love with Felix.(he is one anyway)(he does anyway- hopelessly so)





	the ice prince

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for you, Kat…surprise!!  
> Thank you for being such a source of light in my life- I wanted to make this as a quick little fic to accompany your beautiful art, but…I got a little carried away (hey also ily)
> 
> And as for the rest of y’all: this is probably too poetic and a little messy, but- it’s pretty raw and close to my heart. Closer than I had expected it would be, honestly. So I hope you enjoy (:

All his life, Hyunjin had always known winter.

The snow that blanketed his home, the frozen black waters that surrounded the kingdom, the ice in his father’s eyes as he looked at his son-

The winter that killed his mother.

_-whispers in the streets-_

_-the ice prince reigns-_

Winter was desperately beautiful- sugar snowflakes kissing his eyelids, the freezing wind laughing as it slipped between the strands of his dark hair, the clear white sky stretching for miles-

_They’re whispering again-_

Winter was desperately lonely.

Hyunjin was desperately, _desperately-_

“Hyunjin!”

-late.

He was very late.

“Hyunjin! _”_

A little sigh, a tired hand brushing through the dark navy strands of his hair, a bite to his full bottom lip-

_“Hyunjin!”_

No use hiding any longer.

The Crown Prince straightened his shoulders and walked through the door smoothly, turning in a graceful arc honed by years of practice and bowing immediately to the king. “Yes, your Majesty?” he asked calmly.

The King was sprawled on his throne, his once powerful body long gone to seed and his eyes sharp ice as he gazed upon his only son. “How dare you pretend ignorance to my face? You were due in this room ten minutes ago! _”_ He scoffed, beckoning Hyunjin forward with a careless wave of his fingers as he muttered under his breath, “Fit to be a prince, my foot…”

Hyunjin refrained from rolling his eyes and stepped forward gracefully to sink to one knee at the foot of his father’s throne, just as he always did. _Your rightful place._

_-the ice prince?_

King Chulsoo’s sigh of disappointment was something Hyunjin heard a lot _(itstillhurt)_ so it came as no surprise when the King let out a long, dramatically disappointed huff- directed to his inferior son. “Now, boy, as you would have known if you were on time, my advisers have gathered to discuss a possible area for conquering…”

 

The streets drowned in whispers.

_if the queen had lived-_

_if the first son had lived-_

_if the ice prince had died instead-_

Hyunjin tried desperately to shut them out.

_How could a prince of ice have a heart?_

He never really succeeded.

All his life, Hyunjin had always known winter.

Except-

Within that winter, he had always had a tiny snatch of summer. Just enough to lift the corners of his smile when he needed it most, just enough to warm his hands every now and then, just enough to keep the light alive in his eyes.

Hyunjin _craved_ summer.

But for him, summer did not come in the form of rising temperatures and warm breezes. Instead, it was sunlight smiles and easy, warm laughter. It was golden skin pressed against his own and honeyed strands of hair slipping between his fingertips. It was-

It was Felix.

It was always Felix.

 

“Slow down!”

Hyunjin ducked his head to hide the inescapable grin stretching his lips as he ran faster still, long legs flying over milky expanses of smooth snow.

“Hyunjin! Slow down, c’mon!”

Hyunjin threw his arms out wide, running ever faster- until it felt like his feet might lift right out of the snow, until it felt like he could fly over the powdered mountain peaks.

Staight into the sky.

_A thing of the sky chained to the earth-_

“Hyunjin, _please!”_

The Crown Prince leaped over a snowbank like a child and did an about-face, sliding in the snow to face the smaller figure running after him desperately. He stood there, panting and grinning wildly, until the other boy finally reached him.

“You’re so mean- you know I can’t keep up with your long legs,” Felix said with a pout. Hyunjin just laughed, eyes fastened onto the smaller boy’s red cheeks and tousled golden hair, tiny snowflakes melting into Felix’s scattered freckles.

“It’s not my fault you’re short,” Hyunjin retorted, and delighted in Felix’s adorable growl as a response. “I used to always win our races,” Felix said sadly, “but then you had to go and get all…” he made a vague gesture at Hyunjin’s body.

“Tall?” the other boy finished cheekily, and Felix rolled his eyes. “I suppose so.” Hyunjin wrapped his arms around Felix’s smaller body in a hug. “Don’t be mad, Lix,” he said pleadingly, his grin widening when he saw a tiny smile slip onto Felix’s lips.

“I’ve come to terms with it- you being taller does mean way better hugs,” Felix said happily, burrowing into Hyunjin’s warmth as snow fell faster around the two. Hyunjin’s swallowed hard at Felix’s words- _don’t blush don’t blush-_ and wrapped his arms tighter around the smaller boy.

_Goddammit, definitely blushed._

They were both incredibly affectionate people (although Hyunjin suspected his personal reason for that had more to do with the lack of affection he received from anywhere else in his life), so hugs and touches were commonplace for them…but lately-

Hyunjin had been starting to think of Felix a little more than platonically acceptable.

Which was a problem.

Obviously.

Felix sighed a little into Hyunjin’s neck, the warm air making Hyunjin shiver ( _and blush harder_ ). “Have you run enough?” he asked softly, and Hyunjin couldn’t help his hand coming up to cup Felix’s head gently as unbearable fondness spread throughout him.

This was Felix’s way of asking him to go inside.

Knowing the other boy got cold much more quickly than himself, Hyunjin didn’t hesitate to nod and say, “Yeah, I’ve run enough. Let’s go in, okay?” Felix pulled away from him, grinning. “Race you back to the castle!” And with that, he took off in a streak of wind-mussed hair and bright laughter.

Hyunjin blinked once, and then-

“ _Hey!”_

Both boys arrived at the castle in a fit of giggles, Hyunjin having let Felix win in their little race and the smaller pretending not to know that as he preened from his victory. They shucked off their wet clothes in the back of the kitchens, exchanging news and old jokes as they did so.

It wasn’t often, nowadays, that they got to run together. It wasn’t often that they got to see each other at all, really, what with the King demanding Hyunjin to become more and more throne-ready with each coming day. And that meant endless princely duties, of course.

But for now- Hyunjin could bask in his tiny snatch of summer.

It shouldn’t have been so easy- for a prince and a servant to laugh and play with one another. They were from different worlds, with different futures ahead of them- it shouldn’t have _worked_.

But it did.

In fact, it was just about the only thing in Hyunjin’s life that did work- and had always worked, from the moment he met Felix when the boy started working at the palace all those years ago. Years of laughter, years of light, years of _Hyunjin and Felix together-_

Well- anyways.

“D’you want to come back to my chambers to warm up? I can ask my maid to make us a fire,” Hyunjin asked hopefully. Felix pondered for a moment, but Hyunjin knew he could get him to say yes- neither boy was very good at refusing the other. That is, until-

“Felix!”

The smaller boy sighed and gave Hyunjin an apologetic look, “I’d love to, Jin…but-” Hyunjin shook his head, pasting a makeshift smile onto his face. “No, I get it! Cook’s calling, you gotta answer.” Felix nodded sadly, then punched Hyunjin’s shoulder without warning.

“Hey, what was that for? God, that _hurt-_ how do you have so much strength in that tiny body?” Hyunjin whined, clutching his shoulder. Felix just cackled at his pain, “That was for letting me win the second time! See you soon, Jinnie!”

And with that, he rushed off into the kitchens to do his job as a servant, leaving Hyunjin to clutch his shoulder and struggle against blushing as the nickname _(Jinnie!)_ echoed in his ears. He sighed as all his princely duties for the day began to scramble for attention in his mind.

Back to being a prince, unfortunately.

_Until next time, summer._

 

 

The biggest problem with never being able to see Felix, as Hyunjin discovered, was not that he missed the other boy so much that it felt like ice shards were clinging to the bones of his heart-

Okay, so maybe that was the biggest problem.

But the second-biggest problem, by far, was that it meant Felix was now able to hide things from him. Which- was new. And worrying. Because they had never had secrets from each other before, never had a reason to lie to one another before- until now, apparently.

“Lix, what’s this?”

Felix only hummed in response, already half-asleep as he lay cuddled under Hyunjin’s arm in a rare moment of peace for the both of them. Hyunjin let his fingers ghost lightly over Felix’s upper arm, the golden skin there marred with blue and purple splotches that looked suspiciously like the imprints of… _a hand._

_A hand?!_

“Lix… _Lix,_ what is this?” Hyunjin asked more urgently, unable to take his eyes off the bruised handprint on Felix’s arm. The smaller boy, hearing the intensity in Hyunjin’s voice, stirred awake and looked down at where Hyunjin’s hand was still resting on his arm above the bruise.

“Oh…that,” he said in a very small voice.

Hyunjin’s brow furrrowed. “ _Oh, that?_ What happened, Felix-ah? Tell me.” Felix twisted to meet Hyunjin’s eyes, his magnetizing gaze drawing Hyunjin’s stare away from his arm. “It’s really nothing, Jin. I slipped and a cook grabbed my arm to stop me from falling- I guess he grabbed a little too hard.”

Hyunjin narrowed his eyes- _something’s not quite right._ He knew Felix better than anybody else in this world and something about him just seemed _wrong._ But- what reason did Felix have to lie to him?

Felix distracted him from his circling thoughts by snuggling back down into Hyunjin’s side. “Will you play with my hair, Jinnie? I’m so tired from all the work today…” Unable to deny Felix anything, Hyunjin reached a careful hand up to card through the honey-woven strands fanned out on his chest.

As the Felix fell asleep on his chest, Hyunjin let his eyes stray to the ceiling- unable to get the image of that bruised handprint on Felix’s arm out of his head for a moment. But the boy lying against him was too soft and too beautiful- and Hyunjin’s feelings for him too relentless- for him to be distracted for long.

And so Hyunjin fell asleep with summer wrapped in his arms, all thoughts of the mark on Felix’s skin gone from his mind.

_-what would you give, for summer to last forever?_

 

The King was in one of his moods again.

Meaning-

“Your brother was…a _fine_ son, and a finer prince- or he would be, if not for…well.” Hyunjin’s father trailed off as he set down his wine glass, before leveling his only remaining son with a glare. “And my wife…the greatest tragedy of our time.”

Hyunjin sat stone-like in his chair, eyes set firmly on the ornate tablecloth before him as he desperately tried not to hear his father’s words. Perhaps it was better that he heard this all the time- perhaps one day he would be used to it.

_Don’t listen don’t listen don’t-_

King Chulsoo had not stopped glaring at his son. “What with the state of our kingdom…the West grows more restless every day, and we need a strong heir now more than anything.”

_Don’t listen don’t listen DON’T LISTEN-_

“If not for you, perhaps things would be easier…”

The Crown Prince raised his head to gaze directly at his father.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

A frosty silence blanketed the room, before the King seemed to shake himself. “What did you just say, boy?” Hyunjin clenched his jaw in a hopeless attempt to keep the words burning on his tongue back from spilling out. He let his gaze drop from his father’s icy eyes.

 “ _Hyunjin.”_

His fingers started to tremble.

_The whispers in the streets grow ever louder-_

“I said, _Father-”_ Hyunjin started, fury sparking through him, “What is that supposed to mean- that if it weren’t for me, things would be easier?” The King’s face was slowly growing red with anger as he stared at his son, alcohol and long-held hatred rushing through his veins.

_my only remaining son-_

 “You know what I mean, Hyunjin,” he said lowly. Hyunjin gritted his teeth and raised his head to glare right back at his father, the floodgates of fury within him now open and pouring out. “No, I don’t think you were _quite_ clear enough,” he retorted, vision going crimson.

_what am I to you, other than a vessel for the crown?_

The King shook his head slowly. “You already know what you’ve done, boy. You are lucky that I even let you remain in this palace, considering…if not for your brother dying, well-”

_Don’tlistendon’tlistendon’tlisten-_

The King’s voice was growing louder, his hand curling into a fist-

“You know exactly what you did…You _killed_ your mother, and your brother died because of it!”

_DONTLISTENDONTLISTENDONTLISTENDONTLISTEN_

“You _killed her!”_

“You _killed him!”_

The Crown Prince pushed himself away from the table and ran out of the room, his father’s shouts echoing down the hall after him.

 

“Jin, please talk to me.”

Felix’s fingers trembled as they brushed through the dark strands of Hyunjin’s hair, his sleek locks gleaming in the dim light. Hyunjin squeezed his eyes closed, unable to look at the worry shining in Felix’s doe-like eyes as he rested his head in the other’s lap.

“Jin, _please_ \- you’re scaring me.”

Hyunjin let out a long sigh, but opened his eyes anyways to catch Felix’s wide-eyed gaze. “I just- my father again. That’s it,” he whispered, unwilling to repeat the venomous words that still echoed in his ears all these hours later.

Felix tilted his head in confusion, eyes gleaming with unrestrained concern as he looked down at the prince in his lap. His hands stilled, and Hyunjin knew what Felix would ask before he even opened his mouth. “What…what did he say this time, Jinnie?”

Hyunjin was _so tired-_

With another shaky sigh, he pulled himself upwards to sit before Felix on the bed. “Just the same old shit, Lix- how I’m not good enough to inherit the throne…how everything happening right now is my fault. How I-”

To his horror, Hyunjin felt _tears_ well up in his eyes, and he choked back a sob.

_You always were such a crybaby-_

Felix made a tiny, sad noise in this throat, and reached out to grasp onto Hyunjin’s shaking hands tightly. The taller boy took a deep shuddering breath, and forced the remaining words out of his mouth before they burned right through his tongue.

 “How- how I killed my mother and my brother. Because she died giving birth to me- and he was too young to be without a mother.”

A helpless sob escaped from between his lips at the admittance.

“It’s- _it’s all my fault, Lix.”_

Hyunjin bent forward to rest his head in his hands, fighting desperately to maintain some semblance of control over himself.

_How can a prince of ice have a heart?_

And all of a sudden, Felix’s arms were around him- thin, but _warm_ and _sure_ as they drew Hyunjin closer to the smaller boy. Hyunjin could do nothing but hold on as well, feeling as though he was in the middle of a wildly turning sea- and Felix was his only anchor.

“It’s so cold, Lix- it’s always so _cold_.”

“I’m right here, Jinnie. I’m not going anywhere.”

Hyunjin shut his eyes tight as the words deep down in this throat- jagged and sharper than winter’s ice- crawled their way up to his mouth.

“I wish I had never been born a prince.”

_I wish-_

_I wish-_

_I wish-_

 

 

Time went on as normal.

Princely duties and stolen moments with Felix, berating from the King and running over the snow until Hyunjin felt a half-step from either death or flight.

_The time for the ice prince to reign draws ever closer-_

Just Hyunjin’s life as usual.

Except for one thing- something _darker_ had crept into the corners of his meetings with Felix.

It was something about the way the boy flinched when Hyunjin moved too quickly, something about the way he seemed to be getting more bruises than ever- all over his body. Something about the way he cut their already brief meetings short with excuses of more work.

Something about the way he couldn’t look Hyunjin in the eyes anymore.

“Felix-ah, where is this one from?”

Hyunjin knew that he should stop- Felix was visibly uncomfortable as he drew a hand up to cover his latest bruise- a deep purple splotch marring the skin of his neck. But he just _couldn’t-_ not when Felix’s lies were getting worse and worse.

_Something is very, very wrong-_

“Um- I knocked into a doorway wrong, that’s all,” Felix smiled up at him nervously, and Hyunjin fought to keep his voice down as he retorted, “ _A doorway?_ Felix…a doorway wouldn’t do that, and you know it.” Felix gulped and looked away.

Unable to stop himself, Hyunjin reached out a careful hand to cup the side of Felix’s head- and the smaller boy didn’t hesitate to nuzzle into his touch. “Lix, why do you keep lying to me? You know I trust you, but…this is getting to be too much.”

Felix sighed and closed his eyes as he leaned further into Hyunjin’s hand. “I just…it’s nothing. Please trust me for now, okay? Can you do that for me?” Hyunjin’s brows drew together- every instinct in his body was screaming at him to push Felix until he found out what was really going on, but-

_Why is it that I can never say no to you?_

“Okay, Felix-ah. I won’t ask for now, but- please don’t get hurt anymore. I can’t stand it.”

Felix just sighed.

_-what would you give, for summer to last forever?_

 

As much as he wanted to, Hyunjin hardly ever lost control- it had been drilled into him since birth to never lose his composure, no matter what.

He was called the Ice Prince for a reason, after all.

And so he kept his emotions hidden as best he could under a mask of icy features and princely airs, never letting it crack outside of his time with Felix.

That is, until that day.

Hyunjin had been walking in a deep corner of the castle, hardly ever used- when he heard it.

“Stupid boy!”

A distant cry of pain followed, and suddenly Hyunjin couldn’t breathe.

_That sounded like…_

Before he knew it, Hyunjin was running.

Faster than across the banks of snow, faster than flight, faster than he had ever run in his life-

_That sounded like-_

He skidded around a corner and- the scene before him was enough to freeze every drop of blood in Hyunjin’s veins.

“Stay away from my son! He is your _prince,_ not your playmate! Have your previous lessons not taught you to stay away from him?”

Felix, on his knees.

The King, raining blow after blow onto the boy knelt before him.

“You are the reason he is failing in his duties! How many times must I beat you before you learn that _you are scum?_ ” the King cried, kicking at Felix’s tiny, frail body for good measure. A helpless sob slipped past Felix’s lips, and-

Hyunjin’s vision went red.

All of a sudden, he was standing before the King, blocking Felix from harm’s way.

“What are you- _what are you doing?”_ he cried, eyes darting from the King’s still-raised hand to his anger-clouded eyes. The King made to shove Hyunjin out of the way, but the boy stood firm. “Answer me!” Hyunjin growled, all pretenses of respect gone.

“Teaching the boy a lesson- it is none of your concern!” the King spat back, trying once more to shove Hyunjin out of the way, but to no avail. “You _hit him-!”_ Hyunjin could feel the anger within him swelling dangerously- but it was far too late for him to regain any sense of calm.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you two always around each other- I let it slide when you were children, but this has gone too far! You will never inherit the throne like this!” the King roared, giving up on beating Felix in favor of shouting at his own son.

Hyunjin balled his fists, stepping closer to his father. “Felix has nothing to do with this! I can’t believe you would just- you just…who cares about the _fucking_ throne?!” The King’s eyes flashed dangerously, but Hyunjin was so far beyond caring. So far beyond even trying.

This was the Ice Prince, losing control.

This was Hyunjin, losing control.

“How _dare_ you swear at me-” the King started, only to be cut off once more. “I hate your _fucking_ throne, I hate this _fucking_ crown, and none of that is Felix’s fault! Do not _ever_ lay a hand on him again, or I swear I’ll-” Hyunjin stopped himself, breathing heavily.

For a beat of silence, both father and son were frozen as they let their words of poison drip in the air.

_The Crown Prince and the King-_

_Father and son-_

And then- a crack echoed throughout the room.

Hyunjin raised a trembling hand to rest against the place on his cheek where his father had slapped him. “Father-” he began, only for the King to shake his head. “You are no son of mine.” Hyunjin let his hand fall, eyes still on the King’s face.

“You should have died with your mother and brother,” the King said disgustedly, eyes nothing more than chips of ice as they stared upon his only remaining son.

Hyunjin was unable to do anything but nod- and then turned to where Felix was still kneeling on the floor, marks blooming on his body and eyes wet with tears as he stared up at them. Hyunjin strode over and gingerly lifted the boy into his arms, paying careful attention to his bruises.

Without another glance backwards, he walked out of the room.

 

“Are you okay?”

“I can’t believe you did that.”

“Stupid question, sorry- let me find a cloth.”

“ _I can’t believe you did that!”_

Hyunjin froze in his frantic hurry to treat Felix’s bruises at the sound of the smaller boy’s raised voice, and he turned to see Felix glaring at him from where he was propped up on the bed. Hyunjin gulped- he had never seen Felix _angry_ at him before, but now-

Felix looked downright murderous.

_Is it weird that I still think he looks cute? Is that normal?_

“Why did you do that?” Felix asked angrily, arms crossed and cheeks red as he glared at Hyunjin. The prince blinked- _god he’s cute he’s cute-_ before walking over and sitting next to Felix on the bed. “Um- do what?” he asked hesitantly.

Felix scoffed, “Of course you don’t know. What you just did back there! Standing in front of me…and that _thing_ with your father-” Hyunjin’s brow furrowed in confusion, “What else would you have had me do? Walk away and- and leave you there?”

“Yes!” Felix cried. “You should have just left it alone!” Hyunjin stared at him in shock, anger beginning to stir within him as well. “Felix- how can you say that? I could never just- _leave_ and let you be beaten by my own father! _What-?”_

Felix growled, “All it did was get you hurt- and maybe even cost you the throne! I can’t believe you were so _stupid_ just because of me.” Hyunjin struggled to maintain control over himself as he leaned closer, making sure Felix was looking right at him before he responded.

“I was _protecting_ you, Felix-” “You shouldn’t have! All it did…was hurt you,” Felix cut him off, fingers curling into fists as his bruises stood out in sickening contrast all over his skin. Hyunjin tried to retain his composure, but his control over his emotions had already snapped once that day, and-

Every time he looked at Felix now, he kept seeing the boy kneeling on the carpet as blows fell down upon him like thunder.

It was torture.

_The heart of a boy-_

_Sunlight in a smile-_

_I can’t stand to see you hurt-_

The words were falling from his lips before Hyunjin could even think of stopping them.

“I am your _prince,_ Felix!”

Hands shaking, heart beating, the winter wind screaming-

“It is my job to protect you! I was born to protect this kingdom- to protect you. Let me have this, let me do this.” Hyunjin couldn’t stop the words that had been collecting on his tongue for months- all he could do was let them fall into Felix’s lap and hope for the best.

“Felix…I couldn’t live with myself if you were hurt. Please- you’ve been so strong for so long, and- I’m _so fucking sorry_ that I didn’t protect you sooner.” Hyunjin bowed his head, every nerve in his body screaming at him to touch Felix but- not knowing if he was still allowed.

“Felix-ah, please forgive me- and _let me protect you_.”

_What would you give- for summer to last forever?_

_Anything._

_Anything in the world._

“Hyunjin,” Felix whispered, and the Crown Prince raised his eyes to meet the magnetizing gleam of Felix’s warm gaze. “Hyunjin, I- _god._ You can’t just _say_ things like that. You- how can you care for me so much…when I am a mere servant and you- you are my prince.”

Hyunjin felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. “It is terrifyingly easy- to care for you this much.” Felix ducked his head in a blush, and Hyunjin felt his chest ache at the helpless beauty of this boy before him.

_The heart of a prince-_

_The heart of a boy-_

“It scares me how deeply I care for you. It scares me so goddamn much, Lix.”

Felix’s eyes widening, their hearts beating _faster faster faster-_

The winter wind screaming.

_So goddamn much-_

Hyunjin let a sigh rattle through him as the silence stretched on and Felix just stared at him in utter shock. Disappointment clenched his heart in an icy grip as he made to move away from the bed- only for Felix’s hand to shoot out and grab his wrist.

Hyunjin’s gaze snapped up to lock on Felix’s eyes as the smaller held his wrist tightly. “Did you mean that?” Felix whispered, his voice just barely audible. Hyunjin let himself nod just the tiniest bit, and-

Felix bit his lip- _oh god-_ and leaned impossibly closer to Hyunjin, who felt his breath hitch in response. “It scares me too, my Prince. So goddamn much.” And with that, Felix dipped his head to capture Hyunjin’s lips with his own.

For a split-second, Hyunjin was in complete and total shock.

And then he tasted the golden honey of Felix’s lips and immediately fell in love with the taste, surging back against the smaller boy. His hand came up to cup Felix’s cheek as the smaller tangled in his fingers in Hyunjin’s dark hair.

_A boy woven from gold-_

Summer incarnate was melting onto Hyunjin’s tongue and all he could do was hope it never ended.

They broke apart only when it became absolutely necessary, panting against each other’s lips as Hyunjin tugged Felix closer to him still, murmuring, “ _Closer,_ baby. Come here.” He pressed his lips against Felix’s once more, barely holding back a moan at the honeyed taste.

“Felix-”

“Hyunjin-”

_I am your prince!_

_You are my prince-_

“Father, I can’t do this anymore.”

The King stood with his back to his son, shoulders proud and crown secure. The Crown Prince’s hands were shaking, but his voice was steady.

“I’m absolving the throne.”

At this, the King turned- his eyes wild and mouth agape. “You _what-?”_ Hyunjin swallowed hard, “Other things have become more important to me. You said it yourself- I was never meant to be King.” He took a deep breath and steeled himself.

“This is my goodbye, Father. I wish you luck.”

The King spluttered, “But who will take the throne, then?”

Hyunjin was already walking away, so the King didn’t see the grin that slipped onto his son’s lips.

“Anyone would be better than you- I heard Cook is looking for a promotion!”

_The whispers in the streets are deafening-_

_The reign of the ice prince is no more._

 

 

“Are you ready?”

“Of course.”

“Let’s go then, my love,” Hyunjin said with a wink, eliciting a laugh and a slap from Felix. Hyunjin clicked his tongue and their horse began to trot forwards. Felix tightened his arms around Hyunjin’s waist as the horse carried them further from the palace with each step.

“Jinnie, where are we going to go?”

Hyunjin smiled.

“Wherever it’s summer.”

 

A lot of things in Hyunjin’s world didn’t make sense, but-

_A prince and a servant-_

_Winter and summer-_

_Hyunjin and Felix-_

They did. They made sense.

_I love you I love you I love you_

**Author's Note:**

> This is Kat’s beautiful art that I wrote the fic for…it is what inspired me to write this fic (besides as a present for her) so you should really check it out, as well as the rest of her art!  
> https://twitter.com/_kpoptarts/status/1081794463675174912


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